Mark Lenhard, CEO of U.Ok.-based remittances platform Zepz.
Lukas Schulze | Sportsfile for Net Summit by way of Getty Pictures
LONDON — British digital remittances firm Zepz is shedding dozens of IT staff and is within the strategy of closing down enterprise models in Poland and Kenya.
Roughly 200 employees members shall be impacted by the redundancy measures, two staff who had been made redundant informed CNBC, asking to stay nameless because of the sensitivity of the matter.
As of January, London-headquartered Zepz — previously referred to as WorldRemit — had a world headcount of 1,000 folks, that means the redundancies have an effect on round 20% of its whole workforce.
The layoffs have an effect on a number of IT capabilities on the firm, together with database administration, growth operations and software program engineering, the previous staff stated.
Zepz confirmed to CNBC that it was lowering headcount so as to “sustainably assist the following section of long-term strategic targets and continued development.” The corporate declined to touch upon the variety of staff impacted by the layoffs, with a spokesperson explaining that the redundancy course of was ongoing.
“Following the profitable completion of its replatforming efforts, bolstered by superior automation and AI, Zepz has launched into a strategic initiative to optimise operations throughout the organisation,” a Zepz spokesperson informed CNBC by e mail.
“This transformation has strengthened the expertise basis and lowered the necessity for sure operational and technical capacities, prompting a proposed discount in roles as a part of the general plan,” the spokesperson added.
Zepz has been touted as one among Britain’s fintech darlings. The corporate was based by Ismail Ahmed, a Somalia-born British entrepreneur who fled the nation throughout the Somali Civil Conflict. Ahmed at the moment serves as the corporate’s non-executive chairman.
The group was renamed Zepz following the acquisition of cash switch platform Sendwave in 2020, with the model and WorldRemit coming underneath one father or mother firm.
‘Tough alternative’
CNBC obtained an organization memo saying the cost-cutting measures shared by Zepz CEO Mark Lenhard internally in January.
“At present we’re saying a really troublesome choice — proposed reductions in our staff throughout all HQ capabilities, and most areas. And particularly we’re proposing the closure of our Kenya and Poland using entities,” Lenhard stated within the memo.
Zepz touts itself as a “remote-first employer,” with regional places of work in Kenya and Poland.
“This can be a troublesome alternative, which impacts the lives of our colleagues and mates. That is additionally a alternative which is vital to the success of our mission to serve immigrants in all places. Each information are true, on the identical time,” Lenhard stated.
“To be clear, this isn’t a change of technique. We’re doubling down on our mission in an effort to broaden our impression sooner,” he added. “In some locations, this may imply we’ll have to proceed to ruthlessly prioritize. In others, we will get extra environment friendly. In lots of instances it is going to contain rethinking how we do issues at the moment.”
Zepz’s spokesperson insisted that the IT employee layoffs “is not going to impression prospects in any area or market,” and added that the agency “stays dedicated to its mission of serving migrants worldwide, driving innovation, and delivering significant monetary options to hundreds of thousands globally.”
This is not the primary time Zepz has minimize a spate of roles to avoid wasting on prices. In 2023, Zepz laid off 420 staff, which accounted for about 26% of its international headcount on the time. Later that yr, Zepz slashed an additional 30 roles throughout its folks and advertising capabilities.
Zepz has lengthy been touted as a possible IPO candidate, however a timeline for that is unclear. Counting the likes of Accel, TCV and Leapfrog as buyers, the startup was valued at $5 billion in 2021. The corporate introduced a $267 million funding spherical final yr.
Zepz faces competitors from a number of notable digital funds gamers together with PayPal, Clever, Revolut and Remitly.
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